Approval has been granted by the Muş Governorate Provincial Commission for the Geothermal Power Plant (GPP) project planned by the United States-based company IGNIS H2 Enerji Üretim Anonim Şirketi within the boundaries of Xwarik village in the Varto (Gimgim) district of Muş (Mûş). As the company prepares to begin its first drilling operation in May, reactions continue against the project, which is expected to negatively affect 16 Kurdish Alevi villages.
The project, which is set to negatively impact livestock breeding and agriculture in the region, will also threaten sites of belief in addition to residential areas. Among the locations within the project’s impact zone are Gireboa, previously bombed in 2015 under the pretext of being a “Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) cemetery”, as well as Koribava, Nîşaneroj, Kalesipî, Şehidê Merge, Tekaye Kekebava, Ninga Dûndûle and Şehîdê Hopike sacred sites. Seismologists studying the fault line known as the East Anatolian Fault, whose focal point is Kanîreş (Karlıova) and which extends northwest through Gimgim before merging with the North Anatolian Fault, warn about the energy accumulated along the fault. Experts’ assessments regarding the potential impact of the GPP on seismic activity have caused serious concern among residents of Gimgim.
Farms located just 368 meters from the project site also face significant risk. Furkan Güneş and Onur Güneş, two brothers who previously engaged in livestock farming in central Gimgim but moved to Xwarik village after pasture lands were replaced by a hospital and industrial site, shared their evaluations of the project’s potential impact.
Life will be destroyed, earthquake risk will increase
Onur Güneş, who stated that he has been engaged in livestock farming, the family’s profession, for 15 years, said that this is their only source of livelihood. Noting that they will no longer be able to benefit from pasture lands if the project is implemented, Güneş said: “The area where the geothermal project is planned is the central pasture of our village. The geothermal project will harm not only those of us who rely on livestock farming, but everyone. It will pollute the environment and create noise. Years later, plants will no longer grow as they once did. Our forests will disappear. There will be migration; our young people will leave these lands. There will be no population left; villages will be emptied. They are going thousands of meters underground, bringing valuable minerals and water along fault lines to the surface. This will seriously trigger fault lines as well. The risk of earthquakes will increase even further.”
Project will bring no benefit to the region
Güneş pointed out that they operate the largest livestock enterprise in the region and said they would be forced to shut it down if the project is implemented. He said: “The company is investing for itself, but this brings no benefit to the people of the region. If it is for the public good, then they should leave. We do not want a geothermal project in this area. We call on everyone to join this struggle to protect our nature and our living spaces. The people’s places of belief are being targeted. After this project, there will be neither a mosque nor a cemevi left. There is an attack on people’s sacred places. The geothermal project will cause a major wave of migration in our region. There are also rumors that gold, silver and boron mines will be opened. All these mining activities will harm the region. We ask for support from all political parties. The people of this region are so respectful of nature, look at our forests, no one even collects firewood from them. But if the geothermal project goes ahead, we will not even be able to find dung to burn for heating in winter. A dam was built in Gimgim years ago, yet it brought no benefit. Villages were submerged under the dam, and people there migrated, some abroad, others to different cities.”
Güneş underlined that they will continue to struggle by exercising their democratic rights until May, when the first drilling is set to begin.
Cultural, economic and ecological destruction
Furkan Güneş, who has been engaged in livestock farming since childhood, said they own a large number of cattle and sheep. Stressing that the Geothermal Power Plant project will lead to ecological, cultural and economic destruction, Güneş said: “Kurdish Alevi villages have their own places of belief. There are cemeteries, sacred visiting sites and spaces that people consider holy. These places will disappear. I see these projects as a policy of ‘division and elimination.’ I believe it is a policy of forced displacement.”
Agriculture and livestock are the real investment
Güneş stated that he supplies meat to many places in Gimgim and underlined that the project will benefit neither people nor the environment. Pointing out that beneficial investment for the region would be supporting livestock farming and opening land for agriculture, he said: “Young people from Gimgim have started to come together. As youth, we do not want our geography to be touched. As those engaged in livestock farming in the region, we will be there with our tractors and equipment, and we will stand against it.”
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